Suitable Accommodations: An Autobiographical Story Of Family Life: The Letters Of J.F. Powers, 1942-1963

Name: Suitable Accommodations: An Autobiographical Story Of Family Life: The Letters Of J.F. Powers, 1942-1963
Author: Katherine A. Powers (editor)
ISBN: 9780374268060

by Katherine A. Powers (editor)

Buy on Amazon

A wry, moving collection of letters from the late J. F. Powers, "a comic writer of genius" (Mary Gordon) Best known for his 1963 National Book Award–winning novel, Morte D'Urban, and as a master of the short story, J. F. Powers drew praise from Evelyn Waugh, Flannery O'Connor, Saul Bellow, and Philip Roth, among others. Though Powers's fiction dwelt chiefly on the lives of Catholic priests, he long planned to write a novel of family life, a feat he never accomplished. He did, however, write thousands of letters, which, selected here by his daughter, Katherine A. Powers, become an intimate version of that novel, dynamic with plot and character. They show a dedicated artist, passionate lover, reluctant family man, pained aesthete, sports fan, and appreciative friend.…

Recommended by

NPR Books We Love

"It’s hard to talk about J.F. Powers, the Catholic writer who crafted a modern American classic with his 1962 novel, Morte d’Urban, without resorting to superlatives. Powers, who died in 1999, is possibly the most underappreciated fiction author of his generation, and quite likely the funniest. This collection of Powers’ letters to his family and friends is addictive, delightful and alternately hilarious and heartbreaking. Edited by his daughter, journalist Katherine A. Powers, Suitable Accommodations is a fine introduction to the work of the greatest Minnesota writer in history."

NPR Books We Love — 2013 · apps.npr.org